Variable width metal form and form holder



Jufly 3, 1934.

s. s. NELSON VARIABLE WIDTH METAL FORM AND FORM HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept.

INVENTOR. 650/?65 5. NELSON, Q N

TTORNEY July 3, 1934. e. s. NELSON VARIABLE WIDTH METAL FORM AND FORM HOLDER Filed Sept. 20, 1930 2 Sheets$heet 2 Patented July 3, 1934 PATENT or FIiCEi VARIABLE WIDTH METAL FORM AND FORM'HOLDER 4 Claims.

ouswidths. Metalforms of the type .disclosed inv my, copending application.referred .to. above, for

1.5;. instance, are not .adjustablein width .to. any appreciableextent and...a. contractor who hasused' such a set offorms ononejob might consequently haveto obtain.an entirely new secondset for another. job having only slightly different specigg. fications, Thus the.outlay-for the original .forms might practically become. a dead lossupon the completion of theoriginahjob. I. am aware that it, has been. proposed; to employ supplemental fOrms-inconnectidn .with the main forms of the.

5: typedisclosedlon my copend-i'ng application for thecpurposeof facliievinga. greater width; but'the use ofsuch supplemental'formsrequires a superfiuous amount ofjalse workand an. unnecessary.

amount of metal... Moreover, it is diificult to place the supplemental forms. so..-as. to get .a tight fit and prevent. leakage. or" concrete.

A general. obj ect .of thezpresent invention .is .the

provision of a simplified variable width metal 'formand. form.holder which willbe capable of. repeated use in connection with jobs requiring forms .of difierentwidths.

Another object is .theprovision of such a. variable width orm. which may readily beassembled andwhichwillalso. present atight'fit with the 40. falseworkto .preventleakage Ofithe concrete.

Aiurther. object.of..the inventionis the provision -of. sucha. variable; width form .which will not. onlyfbeiofsturdy construction, but which is readily: collapsibleso as to.be.v capable. of easy- 1 transportation from place. to. place..

These and..other.. objectsof. the invention. will become. morereadily; apparent upon a reading ofthe detailed specification in connection.with the accompanying drawings. and appended claims...

In..the. drawings:

Fig. 1 is a crosssectionaliview showing a .construction with .oneotmy. variable width forms and. f orm. holders place.

Fig. 2 is .a. tonplan .view :otone. of.the..side sec.-

tions from which the variable-width form is as-- sembled.

Fig. 3 is aside elevation oisthe-sectionshown in Fig. 2. f

Fig. 4 shows'a side elevation of. a-variablefiil: width form holder.

Fig. 5 is a plan view. of-theform holder shownin Fig; 4.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation otamodifiedform of form holder.

Fig. '7 is a plan view of the -form holder shown. in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8shows the locking-linkzusedsin the form holder shownin-Figs. 4 and. 5.;

In the drawings, 10 representsthe false workv upon which the forms and. the form- .holders are mounted; the concrete beingpoured aroundrthe forms and above the false Workas -shown.. 12 is a variablewidth form made upsof two oppositely disposed identical side sections 14- which; are joined byv means of the'metallic cover plate 16 and the wooden connecting; bars 18;

Eachiof the sections14;is:preferablymade. 0ft sheet metal and comprisesa vertical 1 wall por-- tion 20 havinga plurality of: openings-22. and a top .portion.24 integral with :andzin aplane substantially at. right anglestothe sidewall portion 20. Integral-with? the top iporti0n.24.-is 3; depending flange zfipreferably formed atan irrclination less than a right angle with respect. to the top portion and the lower edge of this flangeportion- 28 is bent upwardly; to. forma. V; asshown in Fig. L The fiange26-is-provided with a plurality of openings 30 through which the wooden connecting bars 18 are 'adapted to be in serted as. shown-in Fig.1. In assembling the form it is only necessary to: cut up a-numberof wooden connecting members18 having alength dependent upon the widthof-Iform which it isdesired to assemble. After.thezconnectingmembers: 5 have been prepared, these are inserted-through the opposite openings 30 intheflanges 26-;oftwo oppositely disposedside sections 14, asshown in Fig. 1. When this has been done, the metallic cover plate 16 is nailed to the connecting members 18 .by means of nails 32 passing through .p erforae tions provided in the coyerplate forl'that purpose. If desired, additional nails-34mm be driven into. the bars 18 through.- additional perforations in" the cover plate and openings 36 in the top; sections 24 of. the side sections; ingorder; to morefirm-1y secure the various partsof the" form against lateralmovement. By varying. the=inclinationrof the flange 26, ittis possible to. utilize: boards .-of-.variousthicknesses assthe connecting; 119

members 18. The outer edges of portions 28 are preferably arranged to engage the under side of the connecting bars 18 to impart additional rigidity to the assembled structure.

After the form has been so assembled, it is mounted upon the false work by means of either the form holder 38 shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 8 or the form holder 40 shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

The form holder shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 8 comprises a pair of arms 42 and 44 preferably made of flat metal and comprising flat top portions 46 and depending flanges 48. At the outer ends of each of the arms 42 and 44, the top portions 46 extend beyond the flanges 48 to form projections 50 which are adapted to be inserted in the openings 22 of the side sections 14 of the form, the ends 49 of the flanges forming stops limiting the movement of the projections. The arm 44 is provided with a number of lugs or teeth 52 on its top portion 46. These teeth may be formed integrally with the arm 44 or attached thereto in any convenient manner, preferably by means of bolts 54 as shown in Fig. 4. The inner end of arm 42 is provided with a cut out bent portion 56 forming a knife edge for engagement with the lugs or teeth 52. The portions 58 of the top portion 46 and the ends of flanges 48 form guards to protect workmen from coming into contact with the knife edge which is substantially equal to the width across the teeth 52. The flanges 48 of arm 44 are provided with notched portions 60 at points near the inner end of the arm.

In assembling the form and form holder upon the false work, the side sections 14, and cover plate 16 are first joined together by means of wooden connecting members 18, as explained above. The projections 50 of each of the arms 42 and 44 are then inserted through oppositely disposed openings 22 of the side sections, the selection of the particular openings used depending upon the desired height of the form above the false work. The inner ends of the arms of the form holder will of course tend to drop at the center, but these are pushed upwardly by the Workman while allowing the sides of the form to drop between the false work so that the form and holder will be supported by projections 50 as shown in Fig. 1. As the workman pushes the inner ends of the form upwardly, the knife edge formed by the bent portion 56 of arm 42 will engage one of the teeth 52 and upon further upward movement the arms 42 and 44 will thus be spread apart, thereby forcing the wall portions 20 of the side sections firmly against the sides of the false work. One or two trials will be sufii cient to determine the proper notch or projection to be engaged by the knife edge. When the arms have been pushed upwardly at the center of the form holder and the side sections 14 have been pressed firmly against the false work in the manner described above, the parts are then looked together by means of link 62 which is provided with an opening of sufficient width to pass over the flanges 48 of one of the arms, but of insufficient width to pass over the flanges of both arms when positioned one above the other. In looking the form holder in position the link 62 is slipped over the arm 42 by means of its opening at a point removed from the inner end of the arm 48 while the workman holds the form holder up at the center, and the link is then moved lengthwise of arm 42 until it reaches the notches 60 in the flanges of arm 44 as shown in Fig. 4. If the arms are now released by the workman, the lower arm 44 will drop down until the notches 60 engage the lower arm 64 of the link 62 and the members will be locked in position. When it is desired to remove the form holder, it is simply necessary to push the holder up slightly at the center, remove the link 62, and allow the two arms to drop down.

The modified form holder shown in Fig. 6 comprises a pair of arms 66 having projections 68 for engagement with the openings 22 of the forms at their outer ends and having stops 69 adjacent thereto formed by cutting away and bending portions of the arms as shown. One arm 66 has attached thereto a number of lugs or teeth 70 which are adapted to engage with the knife edge 72 formed at the edge of bent portion 74 at the inner end of the other arm 66. The two arms are pivotally connected by means of the rectangular link 76 which is pivoted to the first arm at its inner end and to the second arm at a point approximately midway between its two ends. In using this modified form holder, the projections 68 are inserted into the openings 22 of the form until stops 69 engage the inner sides of the form and a wedge '78 is then driven between the arms 66 and adjacent their link connection as clearly shown in Fig. 6. Upon the insertion of the wedge 78 the distance between the outer ends of the arms will be increased because of the fact that the arms will tend to spread apart at the wedge and thus cause the link to assume an upright position. When the wedge has been driven in sufficiently far to cause the sides of the form to be firmly pressed against the false work by the stops 69, it may be removed and the knife edge 72 will engage with one of the teeth 70 to hold the form in locked position. When it is desired to remove the form holder, it is simply necessary to disengage the knife edge 72 from the projections 70 and the device will then collapse. If desired, the projections 70 and the knife edge 72 may be dispensed with, and the wedge 78 be allowed to remain in place while the form holder is in locked position. If this is done, a greater stock of wedges will be required, however, than if the holder is provided with projections and the coacting knife edges.

While the modified form of holder shown in Figs. 6 and 7 presents a holder all in one unit whose parts are not apt to become misplaced or lost, this form of holder has not been found to stand up under rough usage to the same extent as the holder shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The holder shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is also easier to transport because of the fact that it can be readily disassembled.

Having now described my invention, what I now claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. A form holder comprising a pair of arms overlapping at their inner ends and having projections formed with stops at their outer ends, an inwardly directed raised projection mounted upon the upper surface of one of said arms, the inner end of the other of said arms being formed as a knife edge for coaction with said raised projection to prevent relative inward movement of said arms, and a link pivoted to each of said arms, said link being connected to the arm carrying the projections substantially at its inner end and said link being connected to the arm carrying the aforesaid knife edge at a point approximately between its inner and outer ends.

2. A form holder comprising a pair of arms overlapping at their inner ends and a link pivoted to the overlapping portions of said arms, a wedge driven between said overlapping ends whereby transverse spreading apart of the parts of said arms to which said link is pivoted will cause the total width of the holder to vary.

3. A form holder comprising a pair of arms overlapping at their inner ends, teeth on one of said arms engaged by the end of the other arm to form a fulcrum, a rectangular link pivoted to the overlapping portions of said arms, a wedge driven through said link, whereby the parts of the arms to which said link is pivoted will spread transversely and change the width of the form holder. 7

4. A variable width form holder comprising a pair of arms overlapping at their inner ends and having projections formed with stops at their outer ends, an inwardly directed plurality of raised projections mounted upon the upper surface of one of said arms, the inner end of the other of said arms being formed as a knife edge for coaction with said raised projections to prevent relative inward movement of said arms, and a link whereon each of said arms pivot, engaging means, for the link, located substantially at the inner end of the arm carrying the projections, whereby said link is held from moving longitudinally on either of the arms upon application of pressure at the outer ends of said arms.

GEORGE S. NELSON. 

